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Now this is interesting
Like most people, I'm still given to Walter Mitty flights of fantasy about fame and fortune. Along with idle dreams of being of being Command Sergeant Major of the US Army Infantry Center and School or being a brilliant planetary astronomer (before anyone asks: my math skills are far too weak to pursue that seriously) I've alway dreamed of being a rock star.
Thing is, I rarely picture myself as the big star front man. I'd prefer to be like Lars Ulrich or Steve Harris... writing songs, not really a huge stage presence. Often times when I;m listen to live metal on my iPod I'll indulge my fantasy, trying to feel what it would be like to go out on tour, living the rock'n'roll life even as a 40 year old drummer/bassist/whatever.
Which is why I found this article so interesting. The Police have, of course, started their much anticipated reunion tour. Things are not going especially well...
Fascinating to see the dissection of a disastrous night from the perspective of the guy keeping time. I was also amused by the acknowledgment that the "disaster show" is lurking somewhere on the tour. Reminds me that at the heart of all the flash and screaming, these are professionals up there, with all the concerns that any craftsman has.
Thing is, I rarely picture myself as the big star front man. I'd prefer to be like Lars Ulrich or Steve Harris... writing songs, not really a huge stage presence. Often times when I;m listen to live metal on my iPod I'll indulge my fantasy, trying to feel what it would be like to go out on tour, living the rock'n'roll life even as a 40 year old drummer/bassist/whatever.
Which is why I found this article so interesting. The Police have, of course, started their much anticipated reunion tour. Things are not going especially well...
The crowds have been ecstatic, but Police drummer Stewart Copeland has been anything but impressed so far by the band's reunion concerts.
Copeland trashed Wednesday's concert in Vancouver, British Columbia, in a posting on his Web site the morning after. "This is ... lame. We are the mighty Police and we are totally at sea."
His recollection of events — or, rather, band bloopers — is both scathing and comical. For one thing, Copeland noted, he failed to strike a gong at the right time, ruining "the big pompous opening to the show."
The rock trio of Copeland, singer-bassist Sting and guitarist Andy Summers flubbed their performance of the song "Message in a Bottle," said Copeland, who didn't hear Summers' opening guitar riff. Sting then missed his cue from Copeland — "so we are half a bar out of sync with each other. Andy is in Idaho," he wrote.
That misfortune extended into the second song, "Synchronicity II." They couldn't "get on the good foot," said Copeland, before going on to criticize Sting's footwork during the set.
"The mighty Sting momentarily looks like a petulant pansy instead of the god of rock," he wrote.
The disorder continued "for song after song." But afterward, he said, they fell "into each other's arms laughing hysterically."
"It usually takes about four or five shows in a tour before you get to the disaster gig. But we're The Police so we are a little ahead of schedule," he said.
Fascinating to see the dissection of a disastrous night from the perspective of the guy keeping time. I was also amused by the acknowledgment that the "disaster show" is lurking somewhere on the tour. Reminds me that at the heart of all the flash and screaming, these are professionals up there, with all the concerns that any craftsman has.